What it's like to be a university freshman in Korea

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NEWs GENERATION is a program hosted by Arirang TV covering Korea’s latest trends and current affairs from the perspective of those in their twenties and thirties (millennial and Gen Zers, dubbed the ‘MZ Generation’ in Korea). For all of my appearances, visit
NEWs GENERATION Appearance.

How exactly has the pandemic prevented Korean university students, specifically freshmen, from enjoying their first year of college? To find out, we're going to hear from the two youngest panelists on NEWs Gen. Hyun-woo. You entered university at the peak of the pandemic, which in Korean we call the "unfortunate class of uni students." Tell us a little bit more about how college life has been for you so far here in Korea. How's college life here in S. Korea?

College life here in Korea is fun! Because I attend George Mason University’s Korea campus, which is an American university, it’s an interesting dynamic with both American and Korean aspects of college culture. (Because our campus isn’t as big as other universities, I would say we have a very tightly knit community where you get to know and build connections with people from all around the world.)

I did enter university when COVID-19 was still around so I did unfortunately miss attending some of the highlights as a freshly admitted student in-person, like the Orientation. I actually held it virtually using something called Gather.town, where people had avatars and could move around in this virtual 2D game-like space.

Having been the Student Body President last year as well, I would say that college is when you start having real responsibilities as an adult, but it’s also fun because you have friends and peers to help you on the way.

I think this is especially the case for me because Korean culture really focuses on doing things together, which really helped me out.

In light of it being a new semester, we're going to walk our viewers through the college roadmap most freshmen go through. What are some distinctive things Korean college freshmen experience? What are some unique parts of Korean college experience?

There’s a lot of things that are unique to the Korean college experience! We put a lot of meaning into our sense of belonging, for example, your major or clubs that you’re involved in, which we make friendship circles out of. Age is also another important one since there’s a very unique Senior-Junior relationship in Korea called the 선배 – 후배 Culture, where you treat your seniors with respect and they take care of you. That relationship gets passed down when you become an upperclassmen yourself, which I find really interesting.

Hyun-woo. As you mentioned before, I think you can compare what it's like for freshmen in the States and Korea because you go to a U.S. school based in South Korea. What do you think is the biggest cultural difference between Korean and American freshmen students at college? How different is it going to a Korean university vs. American university?

Right, so there’s a few things that come to mind. One I would say is the culture around festivals, which a lot of Korean students regard as a highlight of their college life. Here, festivals are organized like concerts, where you have celebrities and artists perform, while in the States, there’s more emphasis on it being a carnival-like event where you have lots of booths and you look around.

Another has to be the drinking culture here, because Korean students often go to restaurants or bars to drink with their friends for a lot of events and gatherings. In the States, you have friends come over to a party that you would host in your house, which isn’t something that you see in Korea. Drinking is an integral and natural part of many events here, where it’s almost a separate event in its entirety in the US.

Much has changed since the pandemic. Especially gatherings like orientation or 'membership training' sessions... How exactly are college students these days enjoying such gatherings? How has freshmen life changed since the pandemic?

After COVID-19, I think freshmen life has changed a lot as many events are now held online instead of in-person. You don’t see large groups of students too much anymore, and it feels like Korean college culture has transitioned to smaller groups and more at-home events with the pandemic.

Especially with social media and platforms where you can talk to your fellow peers anonymously, I don’t think students feel the need to meet others face-to-face as much as it used to be. Nowadays, I’ve heard that blind dates where you meet new people through friends or acquaintances, are even being held online. I feel like that makes sense since so many people are now used to using Zoom for pretty much everything.

As an ending note, any tips on how to better enjoy campus life here in Korea?

I would say try lots of things out especially if you’re a freshman and find out what you like doing and what you’re good at.

There’s almost this unspoken expectation that you need to be extroverted and always meet new friends, but I would say don’t be pressured too much about it and enjoy college life while you’re at it, and you’ll meet people who you enjoy being with.

Even though I do attend an American university, I really do enjoy being able to stay in Korea, not only because of my family, but because I get to enjoy a good mix of American and Korean culture. It’s a multicultural campus life that I would recommend to students if they’re interested.